Finally. This weekend I finally felt the season was actually winter when my Gmail theme background turned white, and the view outside my window matched it. I think itâ€™s safe to say this winter has been unseasonably warm and lacked the bite to even have me thinking about grabbing the boots out of the back of the closet.

So, after a bunch of cold windy days with annoying rain, this weekend we finally got some powder. Sure it only lasted one evening and it wasnâ€™t cold enough to last more than 24 hours â€” butÂ it finally felt like winter.

I come from the land of New Jersey where snow is a bit more regular and a snow day doesnâ€™t happen when a report thinks there is a 40% chance of ice. DC has always made me laugh because while residents know it may snow every once in awhile, sheer panic occurs when it happens (being prepared won’t always save you).

Planning for Your Next Snow Day

With snow on my mind, here are some things to enjoy the next time DC goes in lockdown and we get a snow day.

Layer Up and Get Out There.Â If there is enough on the ground, the temperature is nice and cold, and itâ€™s still coming down, there are not many good excuses for not having a little romp in the snow.Â The Borderstan area does not have a lot open park space, but Meridian Hill Park and Stead Park may be good areas for snowman building and snow-angel making. For the hardcore, take your garbage can top and head to one of these areas in the district that have good hills. There always tends to be a great neighbor vibe when it comes to playing in snow, so definitely get out there next time.

Donâ€™t Just See a Movie, See an Imax.Â Lots of people go see movies on snow days and I donâ€™t blame them; the allure of theater popcorn (always tastes better) and “movie theater-only candy” (like Bunchaâ€™Crunch) is strong. But if you are going to spend the day indoors, I recommend going big and going Imax. The one in the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall is easy to reach.Â Sometimes they play regular movies, but most of the time itâ€™s one of their own great shows. Frankly, looking at todayâ€™s movies, I think the Imax is the better way spend your money and day.

Prepare for the Olympics with Ice Skating.Â Skating while itâ€™s snowing is a great experience. The Sculpture Garden Ice Rink is easily accessible and worth a visit. Yeah, everyone wobbles a little and falls are standard so take the risk and enjoy it.

Of course, snow also lends itself to serious Netflix show marathons, sleep catch-up, trips to malls, Kindle usage, and delicious homemade hot chocolate. There are also small special events, but I think the key to a good snow day is plenty on the ground, cold temperature, and a good hill near by.

On My Mind

SUPERBOWL. My Giants vs. my gfâ€™s Patriots. REMATCH. More words on this game and Borderstan activities during in next week’s column.

How did the DC Government do in its efforts to remove snow from the cityâ€™s streets this winter? When giving your grade, consider the December snowstorm as well as the back-to-back storms in February that comprised Snowpocalypse.

A total of 129 readers responded. The city got Excellent or Good marks from 34% of readers while 41% gave Poor/Failing marks. In the middle were 25% of readers who gave the DC government a fair mark for snow removal efforts. Here is how Borderstan readers graded the effort:

The federal government is opening two hours late today; employees may also take unscheduled leave, according to OPM. Other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual in DC. However, the city snow emergency is still in effect, so remember those parking restrictions. Metrorail is open at all 86 DC metro-area stations.

However, be careful to watch for icy patches on sidewalks and streets. It’s called black ice because it is transparent and takes on the color of the surface beneath it. So, on black pavement, it looks like… black pavement. It is often impossible to seeâ€”you only realize it’s there when you slip and loose your footing.

Over at Greater Greater Washington, Dennis Jaffe has a post calling for volunteers to shovel out DC bus stops today. Jaffe is asking people grab a shovel and go clear out WMATA (Metro) bus stops in the area. You can read his post and the reader responses in the comments.

What do you think?

Is clearing the snow from bus stops something thatÂ Metro should figure out how to do… no matter how overwhelming the two recent snowstorms have been?

Are you willing to shovel out a bus stop this time, but not never again?

Or do you believe that residents should regularly help out with this type of volunteer action, the same way we are supposed to shovel our sidewalks?

So, is anyone going to shovel out a bus stop today? We have plenty of them in the area.

While it did snow last night, it did not snow enough to earn you a free day off from work. TheÂ federal government is open, with the unscheduled leave policy in effectâ€”you will have to take a vacation day if you want to stay home.

We have hard two bigger than usual snowstorms this winter, one right before Christmas and one this past weekend. How would you grade the DC government’s response in terms of snow removal from the streets?

I saw this posting over at dcist, “Icy Sidewalks of Death Provoke Comments and Questions” with links to some photos at PoP’s “Sidewalks of Shame” (the one of the 14th and T Post Office sidewalk yesterday was particularly galling). In addition, the dcist posting has links to a WaPo story and the City Paper’s Housing Complex, which have info on YOUR legal responsibities for keeping your sidewalk clear of ice and snow.

Over at DC Striving, there is a suggestion that if a sidewalk has not been shoveled and de-iced that dog owners should not have to pick up their poop from that patch of sidewalk. Sounds fair enough to me. (Yes, our building’s sidewalk is clean as a whistle, thank you very much, and has been since early Sunday morning… a total of four shovelings that began Saturday.)

So, are there any stretches of sidewalk in the Dupont-Logan are that you would like to nominate? How about 17th Street? 14th Street? 16th Street? P Street? Others?